Tom Dumoulin abandons Giro d’Italia

Dumoulin (Sunweb) gave it a try on Wednesday, rolling across the start line in Frascati with a bandage on his left leg that covered the string of slices made by a chainring a day before. His knee was swollen and painful, and he visibly limped. He didn’t last long against an uphill start and the day’s cold rain, pulling off the road and stepping into his team car while the peloton was still in the neutral zone.

“I don’t know if it’s possible, but I want to at least try,” he said before the start. “Then I can’t blame myself for not trying.”

Dumoulin was caught in a large crash in the final kilometres of stage 4. He finished 4’04” back, surrounded by teammates, with blood streaming out of a string of slices caused by a chainring. The grease from the chainring was visible across his left thigh. Dumoulin quickly declared his GC hunt over, but said he would start the following stage if possible.

He underwent X-Rays at the finish and his team declared him fracture-free. But he appeared unable to put power through his left leg on Wednesday, and pulled out before the end of the neutral zone.

Dumoulin is expected to head home, rest, and refocus on the Tour de France in July. He was originally scheduled to race both the Giro and the Tour, but with a heavier focus on the Giro due to its three time trials. In France, he’ll face the Ineos duo of Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome, as well as Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Romain Bardet (AG2R), and Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo).